


Ryusei Black, Nagumo Tetora

by nightfurious



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Quirks, Gen, i almost cried writing this, i love ryuseitai so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 01:45:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfurious/pseuds/nightfurious
Summary: Tetora has trouble accepting the fact that he belongs with the others in Ryuseitai.





	Ryusei Black, Nagumo Tetora

**Author's Note:**

> all of their introduction lines were taken straight from the yumenosaki ryuseitai song translation on the wiki

The sun was shining a bit too brightly through Tetora’s window when he awoke to the frantic ringing of his phone. He groaned loudly at it as if that was supposed to make it stop, but of course the shrill noise came once more, succeeding less in waking him up and more in annoying him. But Tetora rolled over anyway a few seconds later and answered it without looking at the caller. 

“Hello?” he grunted, not trying to hide his irritation. 

“Nagumo!” answered the too-loud voice of his unit leader on the other end. Tetora snapped the phone away from his ear as he continued, “I trust that you didn’t forget our unit practice this morning, right?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then, are you coming?”

Tetora frowned, suddenly realizing that something was off. Their practice wasn’t supposed to start until midday, but then, was the sun typically this bright and invasive when he woke up? He raised up his phone, ignoring Chiaki calling his name, and glanced at the time.

With a jolt, he sat bolt upright and tossed away his covers. “Sorry, Taichou, I have to go!” he said quickly, ending the call and rushing through his morning routine.  _ I can’t believe this _ , he fumed as he dashed outside.  _ I’m going to be so late -- why didn’t my alarm go off?! _

He ended up skidding into the Ryuseitai practice room almost thirty minutes late, but thankfully the others hadn’t started yet. In fact, it seemed as if the only thing they had done during Tetora’s absence was show off their Quirks to each other. Chiaki stood in front of an awestruck Shinobu with his hands aflame, and Tetora heard him say something like, “Don’t be ridiculous, your invisibility Quirk is much more useful for being a ninja than this!” Midori sat nearby, cringing away with a mascot character tucked in his arms, and it seemed that little flower buds were popping out of his hands from how stressed he already was. Kanata leaned against the window, smiling at the other four even as parts of his watery hair dripped to the floor. 

Fantastic. Tetora could already feel his mood dropping, if that was even possible. 

“I’m sorry,” he panted, drawing the others’ attention. “My alarm didn’t go off for some reason.”

“Oh, Nagumo!” Chiaki beamed, his hands quickly extinguishing. “Alright, now that the five of us are all here, we can start practice!”

Tetora gritted his teeth as they began, trying to ignore everyone’s Quirks when they activated either on accident (like how Shinobu flashed out of sight with a squeak when he was startled) or on purpose (like when Chiaki shot fire in an arc over him for the effect, nearly setting the room aflame). As always, he found himself wondering why he had ever been recruited in the first place. He knew that Ryuseitai had always been composed of students who aspired to be heroes but never made it into the hero school of their choice, and normally each member had a Quirk that was just as strong as it was flashy. Tetora’s was neither. 

After they had stumbled through most of the choreography that Chiaki threw at them, he announced that they could take a break, and Tetora gratefully flopped to the floor and grabbed his water bottle. Midori sat with more grace next to him, and Shinobu on the other side of Midori. All three sighed heavily. 

Midori held his hand up and frowned at the tiny flower growing from his palm. He scratched it off and tossed it on the floor between him and Tetora, who grimaced at it and looked ahead of them at the third years, who were talking about what to do after the break ended. “This Quirk sucks,” Midori muttered. “Hah, I want to die…”

“Don’t say that, Midori-kun!” Shinobu said energetically. “To be able to grow flowers from your skin, your Quirk is so interesting! It would be very handy if you were to work at a flower shop or greenhouse.”

“But I don’t want to work at either of those places, I want to be a hero… Or at least, I did…”

“You can still be a hero one day! I am sure that your Quirk would be quite helpful for you, too! I, on the other hand, would not be able to do much if all I can do is become invisible. That is why I am training to become a ninja, where my Quirk would be very useful!”

“But… you wanted to be a hero, too, didn’t you, Sengoku-kun?”

“Ah, yes! Of course, that is my dream! I merely do not think that it would be realistic for someone with a Quirk like mine.”

Tetora coughed back a self-deprecating comment and took a drink of water to cover it up. When the other two looked his way, worried, he gave them a clueless look, pretending not to have heard their conversation. The relief on their faces was too obvious. 

“Alright, Black, Green, Yellow, break’s over!” Chiaki said loudly. “Now, it is time for us to practice our introductions!”

Tetora groaned quietly while Midori let out another large sigh. “I wanna die,” he whispered again. 

“Haha, don’t be like that, Takamine! Come on, let’s start!”

The other four lined up in front of Chiaki, who was always the first to perform his introduction. He grinned widely and set his hands aflame again, shouting, “The red flames are the mark of justice! Burning bright red, the sun of life! Ryusei Red, Morisawa Chiaki!”

With the second line, the flames spread from his hands up to his elbows, and after his name, he punched the air, sending the flames roaring ahead of him. They vanished hardly a foot from Chiaki’s hands, keeping the other unit members, and by extension the audience, safe from burns. The other four clapped with varying amounts of enthusiasm, and he beamed as he stepped into line. 

Kanata was next, so he made his way in front of the others. Smiling, he said in his typical, slow way, “The blue flames are the mark of mystery! I have come from the blue sea~! Ryusei Blue, Shinkai Kanata!”

It wasn’t as flashy as Chiaki’s but it fit Kanata’s character perfectly. Seeing as his entire body was made out of water, he was almost constantly dripping, especially under the lights of the actual stage. In the practice room, that part wasn’t as emphasized, but after he said his name, Kanata threw a hand into the air above him, releasing a light spray of water that wasn’t able to reach the other members. The other four clapped again, and next was Midori.

He was highly unenthusiastic as he stood before the others, and it was evident in his voice. “The flames of green are the symbol of affection, and ah… the healing… something… My name is Midori, so I’m Ryusei Green, Takamine Midori.”

On the word “affection,” he held his hands palm-up and allowed two brilliant green flowers to blossom before picking them and tossing them at the other members after saying his name. Despite forgetting the words, everyone congratulated him. As he stepped back in line, there was another distinct mutter of “I want to die…” Shinobu took his place. 

With no delay, he whipped out a shuriken and exclaimed, “The yellow flames are the mark of hope! A single miracle shining into the darkness! Ryusei Yellow, Sengoku Shinobu!”

He waved the shuriken around him in ninja-like movements throughout the speech, tossing it in the air and catching it as he said his name. At the second line, he altered his visibility just enough to be seen, but allowing light to reflect through him, giving the illusion that he himself was sparkling. As he stepped back in line with a bright smile, Tetora swallowed thickly, slowly leaving his spot in the line. 

Putting on a determined, fake smile, he pumped his fist. “The -- the black flames are the mark of effort--!”

He faltered briefly as he realized how bland his performance was compared to the others. 

“The burning, fighting spirit, stained with the soil of the earth! Ryusei Black, Nagumo Tetora!” 

Little about his line really set him apart from the others, but they all cheered him on supportively as he traded places with Chiaki again. Thankfully, they were moving on to something different. 

The rest of practice went on without a hitch, and soon it was evening. They had a live that night, a basic Ryuseitai performance in the park. They practiced until they felt they were overly prepared, but Tetora still dreaded when they would take the stage. Unfortunately, the time came rather quickly. Chiaki grinned at them as they stood backstage, gathering after changing into their uniforms. “Are you ready?”

The only enthusiastic response came from Shinobu, and from Midori came another wish for death, but Chiaki let it pass. He thrust his hand into the middle of their circle, and everyone else’s soon joined. “Remember,” he told them, “we are here to bring happiness to those who come to see us tonight. We can do it, and we will triumph over everything that blocks us, because we are--”

“Ryuseitai!” the five of them chorused.

The music soon started, and Tetora’s gloom melted almost immediately. Now wasn’t the time to feel bad for himself -- now it was time to focus on the people in the audience. And that was what he would do, as a performer. It wasn’t difficult, either, with how upbeat Ryuseitai’s music always was. His lines fell from his mouth flawlessly, and even the choreography went off without a hitch. He was enjoying himself quite a bit, at least until it was time for their introductions.

“The red flames are the mark of justice! Burning bright red, the sun of life! Ryusei Red, Morisawa Chiaki!”

The audience screamed with joy at Chiaki’s flames, and someone’s voice carried above the rest: “I love you, Morisawa-sama!” Chiaki offered a salute in response before clearing the stage for Kanata. 

“The blue flames are the mark of mystery! I have come from the blue sea~! Ryusei Blue, Shinkai Kanata!”

More cheers filled the air, and laughs rose from the front row as Kanata’s water sprayed a bit too far. Tetora almost laughed himself. 

“The flames of green are the symbol of affection, and-- the healing… something! My name is Midori, so Ryusei Green, Takamine Midori!”

Midori apparently hadn’t remembered his introduction before the performance, but it didn’t matter, because more loving shouts filled the air as he moved away, embarrassed. Tetora was pretty sure he saw a young girl in the front crying as she gripped one of the flowers that he threw. 

“The yellow flames are the mark of hope! A single miracle shining into the darkness! Ryusei Yellow, Sengoku Shinobu!”

Shinobu almost dropped the shuriken as it came falling, eliciting a bit more laughter but many more cheers. There were gasps loud enough for even Tetora to hear when Shinobu used his Quirk, and the whole crowd clapped wildly at the combined use of a Quirk and ninja move.

And then it was Tetora’s turn, and he should have felt out of place, or nervous, or something, but no, he felt lighter than ever, and as he bounded up to the front of the stage, he watched many kids’ faces brighten noticeably. Yes, he was in Ryuseitai, the unit that sought only to make people happy in the best way that they could without being heroes. He was here on stage, and at that moment he felt a sense of belonging stronger than ever before. Really, whoever said that being Quirkless meant that you couldn’t bring happiness to those around you?

And so, with a confident,  _ real _ smile, Tetora shouted, “The black flames are the mark of effort! The burning, fighting spirit, stained with the soil of the earth! Ryusei Black, Nagumo Tetora!”

There was nothing special about the delivery. There was no trick, no Quirk, that made it any flashier than a few words spoken into a microphone. And yet, the cheers that reached his ears were the loudest of the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> i. i just really love ryuseitai.
> 
> here's their quirks and their names   
> chiaki: burning heart (pyrokinesis)   
> kanata: sea (he is made of water)   
> midori: flowering (he can grow plants from his skin on command, and it activates with his emotions)   
> shinobu: ninja (he can change his visibility mostly for stealth purposes but he figured out how to bend light through him for show or as a weapon)   
> tetora: quirkless


End file.
